:vert {cmd}
Vim's :vertical modifier (abbreviated :vert) can be prepended to any Ex command that opens a split window to make it open as a vertical split instead of a horiz
buffers-windows #buffers-windows #windows #splits #ex-commands
:file {newname}
:file {newname} (short form: :f {newname}) changes the filename Vim associates with the current buffer.
:view {file}
:view opens a file with the readonly option set, preventing accidental writes.
:let @q = @a . @b
Macros in Vim are stored as plain text in named registers.
:autocmd FileType python setlocal keywordprg=pydoc3
The K command looks up the word under the cursor using the program defined by keywordprg (default: man).
:norm! {command}
:normal {command} runs a sequence of Normal mode keystrokes from the command line (or a range of lines with :%normal), but it applies your custom key mappings.
command-line #ex-commands #macros #normal-mode #command-line
:tabmove +1
:tabmove normally takes an absolute position (:tabmove 0 moves the tab to the far left), but it also accepts relative offsets using + and -.
:g/^$/,/./-j
The command :g/^$/,/.
g<
Pressing g or q to dismiss it again Example Tips :messages also shows recent messages (and those accumulate across the session), while g< only shows the last pa
:set wildmode=list:longest,full
Vim's default Tab completion in the command-line cycles through matches one at a time, making it hard to see all available options at once.
:[range]right {width}
Vim has built-in Ex commands for text alignment — :right, :left, and :center — that work over any line range without plugins.
command-line #formatting #indentation #command-line #ex-commands
:'<,'>sort n
By default, :sort in Vim uses lexicographic (alphabetical) ordering, so "10" sorts before "2" because "1" sort n — sort selected lines by the leading number,
:earlier 1f
The :earlier {count}f command navigates Vim's undo tree to the state of the buffer at the time of the last (or Nth) file write.
\%^ and \%$
Vim's ^ and $ anchors match the start and end of a line, but sometimes you need to match the very beginning or very end of the entire buffer.
:checkhealth
Neovim ships with a built-in health framework that runs diagnostic checks for core components and installed plugins.
mf and D (in netrw)
Vim's built-in file browser netrw (opened with :Explore or :Ex) supports a full file management workflow beyond simple navigation.
augroup MyGroup | autocmd! | augroup END
Every time you run :source $MYVIMRC or :source % to reload your config, any bare autocmd calls are appended to Vim's autocommand table — no checking for dupli
:ldo {cmd}
Vim maintains two parallel systems for collections of file positions: the quickfix list (global, one per Vim session) and the location list (local to each windo
:g//d
:g//d uses an empty pattern in the global command, which instructs Vim to reuse the last search pattern.
:set wildignorecase
:set wildignorecase makes Vim's command-line tab completion treat uppercase and lowercase letters as equivalent when completing file names, buffer names, and ot
